It's a blog for foodies around the world. Here you can read about recipes , new ideas and old techniques. You don't have to be a gourmet, just someone who really LOVES food and drink!!!!
Celebrate this amazing poet , Samual Taylor Colerdige born this October 21st in Ottery, St Mary's East Devon, England Celebrate the foods he would have enjoyed, namely clotted cream and jam on scones,a good tea, possibly a good beef roast dinner with all the trimmings and that frothy treat syllabub.
Queen Elizabeth II reigned for seventy years, being one of the best ambassadors for the United Kingdom. The foods that she loved so well are also great ambassadors to this country rich in produce, dairy and meat. There are some good recipes out there for home chefs of any nationality.
One of the best loved is the English fry up or full English breakfast. Think of it as a breakfast or brunch on steroids. It has everything from meats to eggs to beans to veggies even.Britsh bacon whuich is thicker than American (and ours comes from on the Irish)and sorts of resembles a pork chop.It may be hard to find here so use the regular kind. You start with frying up bacon and sausage, using the bacon fat to then fry up the eggs. These are usually made sunnyside up, perfect with runny yolk for dipping butter toast slices or soliders into. There are also tomatoes in these. These are seared but you could cook them in the bacon fat too for more flavor. Mushrooms are also added and these are cooked until they're brown and caramelized (you can use whatever is left of the bacon fat ro just saute them in butter)Beans are a must, You can use what they eat in the UK, the Heinz brand but Bush's is another tasty sub in. If you want you can make it vegan with vegan sausage and bacon and use Just Eggs instead of the real thing.Definitely make a lof of toast and liberally butter it. What to drink? Tea and plenty of it. Earl Gray is the best.It's the perfect mild tea to go with all those savory flavors.
Another tasty and easy to make British recipe is Yorkshire pudding. This is recipes dates back to the 1600's and the recipe hasn't changed much since then.It did come from Northenr England where chefs devised a way to use the fat drippings from Sunday roasts. This is a basic popover recipe made with four large eggs, flour and whole milk. You should use the beef dripping from roast beef but you can also use lard, vegetable, shortening or lard. Keep in mind to make the batter over night with just the first three ingredients. The drippings will be added the next day when you are cooking the roast. You will need special popover pans to bake them at 400 degrees Farenheir for ten to twelve mi nutes. Fill them up with gravy and eat with thick slices of roast beef.What about dessert? You could make any of the steamed puddings. These can be labor intensive though and best saved for the holidays. For a good week day or weekend sweet think about syllabub. This is a kind of zabaglione like pudding of white wine and heavy cream. The wine and sugar are first cooked over a low heat. This is stirred cosntantly until the sugar is dissolved. add the half and half once the sugared wine is off the stove and beat until frothy. Serve with whipped cream and nutmeg for a lovely and light dessert.
Queen Elizabeth was a constant in British life for seventy years. The foods of this great country are also mainstays providing taste and comfort. Try them for a taste of British goodness.Queen
Between the frigid temps, snow and virus, it pays to spend a weekend in. It's a great time to hang around the kitchen and do a number of different things. It could be baking or cooking or something more grander - a plan to remodel. There's all sorts of different activities where you don;t have to go outdoors.
Baking and cooking are the obvious choices on a cold snowy day. Since it's the weekend consider fun foods for a Saturday or Sunday night in. Pizza is always a good choice.It's can be in a number of forms You can make the traditional pie or one with variations like a stuffed crust or a four cheese one. Pizza bread is a nice change up for dinner or a snack watching the games. This is just making a kind of savory jelly roll with cheese, and any kind of topping rolled in a flat sheet of dough. You can make your own or use PIllsbury's crescent dough. The sauce is later when the roll is sliced and you can dip the slices into the warmed sauce or spoon it over them.A weekend in is a good time to try new dishes. Crack open those cookbooks you received for Christmas. Try an Ethiopian stew rich with lentils and Berber spice or a crunchy croque Monsiuer . Go to the dessert section and give an English syllabub a whirl or a chocolate lava cake a try. Candy recipes are also an enjoyable to make . Nothing beats a pan of homemade fudge or peanut brittle.
A weekend in is a good time to assess your kitchen . It's a perfect few hours to think about remodeling. Buy or download some of the kitchen remodeling magazines like Homes And Garden to get ideas. Look on line to see what you'd like. It could be a farmhouse sink or a granite counter tops. Assess your appliances too. Is your fridge too old? How is your stove working? Start pricing online and seeing what you think would look best. are you thinking of expanding? Then spend the time indoors looking at your kitchen's dimensions. Do you want to bump it out a few feet? Or would you like to add a sunroom or small conservatory to expand the dining area? Again look on line. there are some great videos on You Tube that walk you through the entire process. Check out Jessica Miller Nashville one that shows the entire process. It will convince you or not to expand the room. While you're at it, also take a look at remodeler's and their websites. You can leave questions or chat live with their customer service reps. You'll get ideas or pricing and time frame along with suggestions.
A weekend in can be a productive time. You can try out a new and fun recipe. You can sketch plans for a new , pretty kitchen. It's time well spent.
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